. >> to comfort us when we have losses. to celebrate with us our joys and triumphs. but also to help us see things differently than we do in our every day lives. >> chris: she is talking about poetry. and the role she says it continues to play. not as accessible as prose. >> to keep a record, sometimes our every day speech has a way of saying, this is me and that is you and we are different, and i think poetry has a way of saying, this is my experience, and you can share in it with me. >> truth be told, i do not want to forget anything of my former life... >> chris: she's the nation's 19th poet laureate. working out of the library of congress, her job this year is to spread her love of poetry. >> actually, i get inspired, it helps me to write poems to be here. >> chris: and describes her role as a cheerleader. >> in a former life, was a cheerleader and seemed a natural way to think about being excited about something, being passionate about something that means a lot to me. that i would like to convey to other people. >> chris: her father is white, the mother, black.